Tracks

Rated: PG-13

Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Adam Driver, Lily Pearl

Directed By: John Curran

Written By: Marion Nelson (Screenplay), Robyn Davidson (Novel)

Rating: 3.5/5

I guess by now, we can expect that at least one film a year will be about someone’s struggling, isolated travels. Though, unlike Life of Pi and All Is Lost, Robyn Davidson’s (Wasikowska) rough journey was by choice. Tracks follows the true story of Davidson as she treks 1,700 miles across the Australian desert with four camels and her faithful dog. Since National Geographic ends up sponsoring her trip, Robyn agrees to the monthly drop-in of the magazine’s pestering photographer Rick Solman (Adam Driver), who must take pictures of her progress.

Unfortunately, this film does lack a certain amount of excitement that we would expect from most dangerous adventures. Nevertheless, Tracks portrays an authentic voyage that is heightened by its stunning cinematography and the brilliant performances led by Wasikowska and Driver.

Good People

Rated: R

Starring: James Franco, Kate Hudson, Tom Wilkinson

Directed By: Henrik Ruben Genz

Written By: Kelly Masterson (Screenplay), Marcus Sakey (Novel)

Rating: 3/5

What good has ever come to people who find large sums of money in the movies? None you say? Well you’re right! And that redundant premise that we have so often seen follows just as predictably in Henrik Ruben Genz’s thriller, Good People.

Tom and Anna Reed (Franco and Hudson), a young American couple, fall into serious debt while renovating Anna’s home in London. As they begin to accept their losses of having a dream home and finally starting a family, they discover the dead body of their tenant who lives below them and the bag of cash worth $400,000 that he stashed away. Since no one comes forward to claim the cash, Tom and Anna agree to only spend money that they need. Unaware that this loot was stolen from a deadly enemy, they are now the crook’s latest target.

Good People is as formulaic as they come. There are no twist or turns. However, the story manages to stay engaging the whole way through and ends with a climactic, suspenseful conclusion. Even though this movie probably won’t even get a bleep on the cinematic radar, Good People does pass for a solid rental.

Good People and Tracks are currently playing in select theaters on September 26.